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Brasian Beats Taking Over |
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Tuesday, 30 May 2006 |
  “Veronica, Juggy D, Rouge …who are they when they’re at home?!” is what you would have been saying a few months ago but now they are all lingering on the lips of music execs all the way down to your average kid in the playground whether black, white, or green with purple spots. People call this type of music different names and it is hard to stick just to one (same problem with Grime, garage, sublow, 2-step, what do you call it? See what I mean) but I like to stick to the word “Brasian” which basically means British Asians doing their thing which is what this is all about. Other popular names are “Desi” which means anything Asian and also “Bhangra” which is a particular genre of music where you have to start bopping and pointing your index fingers in the air (kind of like the Peugeot ad).
Asian music is working its way slowly up the trophic levels of the musical food chain just as grime is doing. Can you see the signs? Let me point them out to you. BBC took notice a while back putting Bobby and Nihal on Radio 1 and then when the new “black music” station 1Xtra took off they put on Punjabi Hit Squad, both doing their bit to bring new flavas to the ears of the mainstream listeners. People have been jumping on the bandwagon before 2002 when Truth Hurts caused a commotion with “Addictive” and used a sample from Bappi Lahiri, without permission, who threatened to sue them. Jay-Z with “The Bounce” and Missy Elliott with “Get Ur Freak On“, the list is endless. Jay Sean and Raghav have also raised the profile of Brasian beats with chart success and Top 10 hits. Then there’s producers like Nitin Sawhney who is a guy who has been around for a long time producing contemporary sounds with Latin influenced melodies, and also Rishi Rich, who has produced remixes for an infinite amount of artists from Mis-teeq to Britney Spears.
The scene is currently being nurtured by Channel U and other “urban” organisations rinsing the Veronica video “Hey Ya” and Punjabi Hit Squad’s “Hai Hai”. Other artists to watch include Hard Kaur, a female rapper with raw flows and also Sabrina who vocals “Can U Feel It”. This is only the beginning and there will be many more artists emerging yet with the help of Rishi Rich, DJ Sanj, Punjabi Hit Squad and the many other contributors to the Brasian music scene. No music should have barriers and this genre is nothing different, it is accessible to everyone. Using hip-hop and RnB samples is a way of making it universal, you may not always understand the language but the rhythm is always there.
Tracks to check out:
Zeus – Kangna
DJ Sanj ft. Sabrina – Can U Feel It
Rishi Rich – Push It Up
Words By: Rashmi Shastri
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